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Kiran Leonard is a multi-talented instrumentalist from Manchester who's releasing his new album Grapefruit at the end of this month. Already released singles Pink Fruit and Secret Police are brilliant and we can't wait to hear the rest of the album. We had a chat with Kiran prior to his show here next month about the new album, being a musician, touring and what's next for him this year.

Your new album ‘Grapefruit’ comes out next month. How long in the making has this album been and are you excited for it to get out there?

I finished Grapefruit over a year ago, so… yeah, I’m definitely excited to be relieved of it. I can see it now. Slouching in my iTunes. Secretly. Alone. Unwanted.

You seem to have tons of passion and knowledge about all aspects of music. Did this start at a young age?

I used to really like writing short stories when I was a kid and music took over when I was 10 or 11. Before that I liked Lemony Snicket, Manchester City and diggers. I like that story about Keiji Haino… you know apparently he really wanted to be the next Rimbaud or something until he heard the Doors’ “When the Music’s Over”, and then that was it. Fushitsusha.

As someone who has played instruments for years, what’s your favourite part about being a musician?

Anything from: hitting a perfect 9th fret harmonic (w neck bend) on an electric guitar; doing a bad Greg Saunier impression behind a drum kit; doing a bad Cecil Taylor impression at a piano; group free improvisation; hitting an ugly chord with a huge tessitura and lots of sixths and sevenths in it; tightening and loosening all the tuning pegs at random; jamming on “Gomni” by Ali Farka Touré or “Moby Dick”;

When you’re on tour do you have any hobbies to keep you occupied throughout all the travelling?

I’m in the middle of my degree so I have to read a lot. I mostly just change my strings. I’d say on tour I spend about 19 hours of my day changing my fucking strings. And reading, I don’t know, Pío Baroja or something. The last tour I was reading El árbol de la cienciaby Pío Baroja. A legit fascist, but funny.

What’s next for Kiran Leonard? Will we be seeing your name on a few festival line ups this summer?

I’m gonna watch an episode of KOTH and go to bed. In the summer I hope to watch the show in a number of different places, at different festivals around Europe.

Kiran Leonard plays The Bodega on the 7th April with support from Field Studies and The Blue Period. Tickets available here

You can also preorder Kiran's new album Grapefruit released on the 25th March here.

You've probably heard Rationale, even if you haven't heardof him yet. His track 'Something For Nothing' was featured as Radio 1's Track of the Day last month and has been in prominent position on the station's playlists ever since. The singer is booked in to play The Bodega at the end of the month so we grabbed him for a chat before the show...

Congrats on all your recent success, how was it to be part of the Radio 1 Future Festival bearing in mind the calibre of line ups over previous years?

Thank you. It was pretty awesome being a part R1's future festival. There were a lot of people playing that I've been listening to for a while now so, it was nice to be on the same bill as them. It was also a really cool to be given the chance to perform on the same platform as some of my favourite acts from years prior to this.

Your latest track ‘Something for Nothing’, which is a firm favourite in the office, is all over Radio 1 at the minute. How does it feel hearing your music being played to such a huge audience?

It's pretty surreal being played on Radio 1 this regularly. My friends still call me when it happens and that always makes me smile. I don't think I'll ever get used to it but it's awesome.

We’ve got a feeling 2016 will be a big year for you, who else do you think is going to smash it this year and is there anyone you’d like to collaborate with at some stage?

I hope 2016 will be a big year for me. The are so many people who I believe are going to smash it like, Mura Masa, Nao for example. They're definitely up there in my top 5.

We are one of the first dates on your tour, are you excited to get on the road and play to your fans?

Yes! I'm beyond excited. It feels like I've played abroad a lot very quite early on. The support I've received in recents months hasn't just been London centric. I want to go out and show my appreciation to as many fans in all parts of the U.K. as possible.

What’s next for Rationale? You released your awesome EP ‘Fuel To The Fire’ last year, can we expect an album soon?

I'm working really hard on my Album at the moment and it's going really well. Unless something catastrophic happens, like me losing a limb from chronic mouse clicking or something, you can definitely expect an album this year!

Rationale plays The Bodega on Thursday 31st March. Tickets are available here.

Glaswegian five-piece White are in the middle of their biggest tour to date. Having been addicted to their infectious pop songs for a while we got dead excited when they were confirmed to play here. They roll up to The Bodega this weekend so we caught up with Leo the singer in advance of the show...

Hey guys, you kicked off your tour last week, how has it been going so far?

Oh my. It's been amazing. Sold out in Edinburgh and then again for our hometown Glasgow gig at the 500-capacity QMU. All the dancing. People singing along, even with songs we haven't released. We put together a massive light show for Glasgow, had special guests, more dancing. I even cracked a smile.

We’re big fans of ‘Living Fiction’ in the office and it has been on repeat since you put it out. Is it one of your favourites to play live?

It's really come into its own since we released it - now crowds are learning it and shouting the chorus back to us. We've got a few new ones as well that are making the floor shake - a sleazy electro monster called Step Up is going down brilliantly.

A couple of us saw you at Y Not Festival last August and loved your set. For someone who hasn’t seen you before what can they expect from your live show?

Going back to festivals which were your favourite last year and which festivals are you hoping to play soon?

It was really special playing Reading/Leeds, and London Calling at the Paradiso in Amsterdam will take some forgetting - 2am and the whole room bouncing in the centre of that brilliant, crazy city. We're playing the Netherlands again straight after our UK tour, at Where The Wild Things Are, very excited about that. Our summer is currently getting filled in with others and we can't wait. Hopefully some beaches...

White play The Bodega this Saturday (27th Feb). You can get tickets here.